University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Jo Handlesman, editor-in-chief of the journal DNA and Cell Biology, said "a few significant changes in the academic system" in the United States could move more accomplished women scientists into positions of leadership, the journal said Friday in a release.

The journal said the editorial, published in the current issue of DNA and Cell Biology, builds on the findings of a National Academy report that attributes the lack of women in top academic positions to a combination of "unconscious biases" and "archaic university structures."

Handelsman and Birgeneau said women are often held back from advancing to tenured professorships because of child-bearing and family responsibilities. They said relatively simple changes -- such as tenure clock extensions, quality childcare or job-sharing -- would allow talented and capable women scientists to move to the top of academia and scientific research.